


Carried up into the clouds, high above

by divenire



Series: Ba Sing Se Lights [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29091927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divenire/pseuds/divenire
Summary: It's Katara's 23th birthday and her friends throw her a surprise party.They invite Zuko, too, the boy she met by chance and with whom she is obviously in love.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Ba Sing Se Lights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161743
Comments: 14
Kudos: 83





	Carried up into the clouds, high above

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!  
> This story is sort of a missing moment from my Social Media AU/Modern AU that I'm writing on Tumblr and you can find it [here](https://zk-modernau.tumblr.com/).  
> (I'm pretty much breaking all the rules of text fics, I'm well aware of that).  
> Actually, this can also be read as OS, I leave some context for those who have come across this story for the first time.
> 
> The story is set in Ba Sing Se. Katara is a medical student, Zuko is working at the Jasmine Dragon after putting his studies on hold. The two meet "thanks to Jet", who after spending a night with Zuko, gives him Katara's number (with whom he had spent a night a few days earlier) instead of his own.  
> Over the past two months, the two have become very close friends, clearly smitten with each other, so much so that Katara's friends decide to invite Zuko to a surprise party for Katara's birthday.
> 
> I won't bore you any further, enjoy the reading!

_Cold sheets, oh, where’s my love?_

_I am searching high, I’m searching low in the night_

* * *

Katara's head was spinning. She hadn't even drunk that much, but she was so happy that she felt lighter than air.

She looked up at the living room ceiling, where the balloons were floating, and closed her eyes for a moment. She could have floated too, she was sure of it - it would have taken very little, just spreading her arms, standing on tiptoe and letting go. Yes, floating along with those balloons, flying far, far away.

The worries that had filled her heart over the last few days suddenly seemed so ridiculous compared to the joy she felt at that moment.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw Zuko looking at her from the other side of the room. Aang and Toph were telling him something, to which he replied distractedly.

She smiled at him and he smiled back.

She still couldn't believe that her friends had actually had the courage to invite him and, even more, that he had agreed to go, barely knowing them. _For her._

And he had even brought the cake!

Katara felt that familiar grip on her heart again - the same one she had felt when she had seen him in Aang and Toph's living room.

_"We definitely surprised you this year_ , _"_ Suki had whispered to her as they hugged. 

Katara had been torn between wanting to sink to the floor and wanting to kill them all, especially the moment Zuko had approached her to wish her a happy birthday and they had shared the most awkward hug in history, aware of her friends' eyes on them.

Their first hug, dammit. Katara felt like a stupid teenager. She was sure she would keep tossing and turning in bed that night, replaying the moments of that evening in her head over and over again.

That train of thoughts was disrupt when the saw Zuko coming towards her, an empty glass in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Hey."

"Hey you."

Zuko had a beautiful smile. He didn't smile often, but when he did, Katara felt like she was walking on clouds.

"You ran away from Aang and Toph?" She told him, casting her gaze towards her friends who were now bickering for some stupid reason.

"Nah, they're nice."

Katara gave him a suspicious look and crossed her arms.

"Seriously! Aang was telling me about his attempts to teach Sokka to skateboard." Katara chuckled. 

“Yeah, you should see them. Those scenes are pathetic and hilarious at the same time.”

They looked at each other for a few moments in silence, both with smiles on their faces.

"I actually came to say goodbye," he began to tell her. "I received some texts from my sister and I should call her back and I'm definitely going to hit traffic to get to the Upper Ring. " He paused for a moment. "Getting more than one message from my sister is a red flag."

Katara suddenly felt a little heavier and realised that she never wanted the evening to end, but smiled at him anyway.

"All right, don’t worry. I'll go get your jacket."

Zuko nodded absent-mindedly and looked around for a moment.

"Would you walk me to my car?" He asked her, his voice suddenly trembling. "I wanted to ... um, give you your birthday present."

Katara's heart sped up.

"You didn't have to give me a gift too! You've done enough already." Zuko shrugged and Katara smiled at him.

"I'll go get your jacket, I'll be right back." 

“Thank you. I’ll go say goodbye to the others in the meantime. Sokka said that I had to bring a muffin home ... ” 

“Please, don’t, for your own good.” Katara said with real concern before heading for Aang’s room.

* * *

The night air in Ba Sing Se was _cold_.

Maybe she should have taken her own jacket. She hunched her shoulders as she walked alongside Zuko down the deserted little street.

The boy looked at her for a few moments. He must have noticed the tremor on her lips, because he took off his own jacket and put it over her shoulder.

_You are the worst kind of cliché, Zuko._

Katara was so cold that she did not even try to protest, but she looked at him with grateful eyes and smiled. She snuggled into his jacket, breathing in his scent.

When they arrived at the car, the boy opened the passenger door and took out a small package from the dashboard.

"Um, happy birthday, again." He said holding out the package to her, his voice trembling and full of embarrassment.

Katara turned the poorly wrapped package in red paper over in her hands. There were gingerbread men and Christmas trees on the red background.

"I forgot to buy the wrapping paper ..." The boy began to apologise, but Katara interrupted him with a look.

She unceremoniously tore open the package, her pulse quickening in her chest, and opened the little box. It was a silver bracelet with a small wave.

_Oh._

She looked up at the boy, her eyes glittering. Zuko had looked away, his hands were in his pockets and he was biting his lip.

"Zuko ..."

In hearing his name, Zuko found the courage to look at her.

"It's beautiful. You shouldn't have, really, but it's beautiful."

The boy blushed and started babbling something about how he didn't really mean to give her themed gifts, but he didn't know what to get her and then he'd seen this in the shop window and thought of her, because the sea reminded him of her ...

Katara did not let him finish his sentence. She threw her arms around his neck - this time without the fear of being observed by her friends.

After a few moments of hesitation, Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her in turn. "Thank you." She whispered to him.

They stayed like that for a few moments, perhaps a second too long. Katara's nostrils were full of his scent and she did not want to let him go.

Reluctantly she finally separated from the boy, taking a step back, but left her hand resting on his arm, unable to completely break contact with him.

"I should go."

"Yeah. Good night then."

Zuko swallowed.

He placed his hand on the one Katara held on his arm. Katara intertwined her fingers with the boy’s, her hands icy in his.

They looked into each other's eye, as if there were a barrier between them that they were both trying to find the courage to shatter - both of them were wondering who was going to break it down, who was going to find the courage to cut the little distance that still remained between them.

It was Zuko who slowly leaned towards her.

His free hand sank into her hair. Katara watched him move closer and closer to her, his eyes fixed on her lips.

Her senses were suddenly heightened: his scent was everywhere around her and Katara was acutely aware of her fingers intertwined with Zuko's, of the boy's hand on the back of her neck.

She only closed her eyes when he was a breath away, her lips trembling with the anticipation of a kiss that did not come.

The sound of Zuko's phone vibrating broke the silence of the street. Katara opened her eyes again, her lips still slightly parted.

It was as if someone had suddenly popped all the floating balloons holding her in the air. Katara felt herself free-falling. She felt all her bones shatter on impact with the ground.

There was a silent apology in Zuko's eyes.

He took the mobile phone out of his pocket with trembling hands.

"It’s Azula ... She would never call me unless it was a matter of life and death."

Katara nodded distractedly. Some part of her was still trapped in the spell of Zuko's face so close to her own.

She saw him dial a number on his phone and start nervously pacing back and forth in the small space between her and his car.

"Azula... I know you wrote to me three hours ago, but I was busy, I didn't think it was urgent! What do you want? ... _What?_ What are you saying? …”

Zuko whitened. He ran a hand over his face as he listened to what his sister was telling him. "All right. Okay, yeah, I got it. I'm on my way home, I'll call you back."

He remained paralysed for a few moments, with the phone suspended in mid-air. 

Katara awoke from her spell and was at his side in an instant.

"Zuko, is everything alright?" 

The boy nodded.

"What happened? Is your sister okay?"

"Yes, yes... Katara, I'm sorry... I have to go."

His gaze was full of apology and concern, his face even paler than usual, the scar even more pronounced on his white skin, in the dim light of the streetlamps.

"Don't worry. I hope everything is okay."

"I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..." 

"Zuko, it's alright."

She quickly touched his arm to reassure him. The boy nodded again. 

"I have to go, sorry."

"Be careful. Drive slowly."

This brought a tiny smile to his face. Zuko leaned towards her and placed a small kiss on her forehead. 

"Good night, Katara."

"Good night."

Katara watched him get into the car, put on the mode and drive away.

She still held the package with the present in her hands, the ghost of his lips burning on her forehead. It was only when she wrapped her arms around herself that she realised she was still wrapped in Zuko's jacket, still drowned in his smell. 


End file.
